About Us

In 1977 we hired our first narrowboat from Anglo Welsh at Market Harborough.From that moment our destiny was set. In 2006 we finally purchased our own brand new 57' narrowboat which we named 'Free Spirit'. Our aim is to travel the length and breadth of all the navigable rivers and canals of the UK. This will be our story as it unfolds.

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

Freezing bathroom so toooooo cold for a shower! Brrrrr

Snow.........nearly forgot what it looked like. We had some overnight, only a smattering mind but enough to make everything look pretty.

And the first blue tit arrived on the feeders. So they haven't abandoned me after all

It's still booming cold on board so we have put the diesel heater on as well. Not acclimatised yet to these cold temperatures. Ian has abandoned the idea of changing the radiator in the bathroom for today. He wants to get all the prep work done first so he's capped off the pipes and removed the towel rail radiator. Yesterday he went to Screwfix and got a single rad but slightly bigger in width. This means all the fittings will have to be changed.....hence the reason for draining the water. In the meantime we're not spending to long in the bathroom. Even the loo seat is like ice.....quite a shock as you go to sit down!!!

Standing upside down

Been leaking for a while judging by the rust.

Just a tad wider and not going to be so easy to fix the pipes.

Now back end of December last year I mentioned the problem I had with my 70-300mm zoom lens. The decision was made for me to leave the Canon behind and take the Panasonic on the cruise. Our son Colin said he would take the lens to a repair shop in Milton Keynes to see if anything could be done. It wasn't until we returned January 30th that he gave me the bad news. The lens was lose. Very lose. In fact at full zoom it wobbled about like a jelly. Unfortunately there was nothing this particular camera shop could do. This morning we looked on line and found a Canon repair place in Stoke on Trent. I gave them a quick bell, told them the situation and they are almost sure that the lens could be tightened. All I need to do is get it there. They suggested I post the camera and lens to them but, as Ian pointed out, with Stoke only being about 50 miles from here it would cost more in postal fees then in petrol. We have decided to travel to Stoke on Thursday and with Midland Chandlers being on route it's a good opportunity to get some more 'blue loo'. I will be leaving lens and camera with them but they have assured me no repair will be started without consulting with me first. Here's hoping it's not to expensive!

Next batch of wildlife coming up.

Bee eaters?

Quaker Parrot

Doesn't look a bit like our grey squirrel

Tree creeper

Possible Crossbill?

Orange trees. They were everywhere in Malaga but no one was allowed to pick them.